


There beneath your body (I'm your shadow)

by targaryen_melodrama



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Established Relationship, Ficlet, Fluff without Plot, M/M, POV Sam Wilson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-02-16 10:58:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18690124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/targaryen_melodrama/pseuds/targaryen_melodrama
Summary: As always, it begins at Sam’s feet.





	There beneath your body (I'm your shadow)

**Author's Note:**

> Not beta'ed, feel free to point out typos, etc.

As always, it begins at Sam’s feet.

By now, no words are needed. Bucky taps a finger up Sam’s left foot first, and Sam tenses, curling his toes, counting _one mississippi, two mississippi, three mississippi_ until he reaches seven mississippi, then relaxes his foot. Bucky kisses his ankle, then the arch of his foot before moving on to the next one.

(The first time Sam had cried in front of Bucky, it was after a long-drawn out mission. Sam had wanted to crawl into the shower then crawl into bed and forget about the world for 16 hours straight, though his aching body clearly needed more care than that. He hadn’t said a word, but Bucky had steered him to the couch, removed his boots, the weapons he carried at his ankles, his socks, and started massaging Sam’s dirty, bloody, smelly feet. The tears immediately started rolling and didn’t stop.)

After each foot and each leg comes Sam’s thighs. He and Bucky always share a smile before they get started, the smile containing all the jokes about the lives Sam’s thick thighs have saved. Because Bucky’s good and serious about this, he’ll lay a kiss on the outside of Sam’s thighs, so they can continue.

(The second time Sam had cried in front of Bucky, it was after a short, but scary mission Bucky had actually been dragged into. They’d taken everything so slowly once they were back home, and Bucky had spent what felt like hours kissing his way up Sam’s body. When he got to Sam’s thighs, he kissed the insides so damn sweetly and looked up. The love in his eyes just...overwhelmed Sam. He’d had had sex plenty of times in the thirty some years he’d been a live. Making love though? Like that? The times had been few and far between.)

They get to Sam’s arms and chest, and this part is the hardest. Sam knows, as a counsellor, just how much pressure people carry in their chests. It’s one of the first things his one-on-one clients would tell him when they started the exercises he recommended: “Holy shit, Sam, I had no clue!” or “It felt so good releasing everything that was held up there!” But it’s scary every single time, feeling how much hurt一physical or otherwise一 Sam carries so close to his heart. It reminds Sam of the aunts and uncles he lost too soon, and makes him choke up at the thought of doing the same to Jody. He can’t.

He won’t.

Once they’re done, Bucky kisses his way further up, from Sam’s fingers to his clavicle.

(The third time Sam had cried in front of Bucky, it was after he’d shown him Gomez Addams kissing Morticia’s arm to Bucky, saying that that’s what he thought of whenever Bucky did that. Bucky looked so offended that Sam ended up laughing to tears. His stomach had hurt for a whole half-hour after that.)

Though it’s the last step, the second hardest part is his face. To tense the muscles of his face, Sam has to smile as wide as he can, then raise his brows as high as he can. He knows he looks ridiculous and the first few times they’d done this, neither of them could stop laughing. They’re okay now, though, and get through it as seriously as they can, especially when Sam’s body feels this relaxed.

When they're fully done, Sam smiles up at Bucky and tucks a stray hair behind his ear, the motion slow and languid. His eyes are already closing, and he’s finally ready to sleep. He’s gotta say the words before he goes, though.

“Thank you, baby.”

Bucky smiles back. He’ll go shower as soon as Sam’s asleep, then come back to bed, his breath warm and steady on Sam’s neck, his metal hand surprisingly light on Sam’s hip.

“You’re welcome, Cap.”

**Author's Note:**

> Progressive Muscle Relaxation, which is what Sam is doing with Bucky's help in this fic, was a Game Changer for me as someone who has anxiety. 10/10 would recommend.
> 
> Title from the song Shadow, by Birdy.
> 
> I am on [Tumblr](http://targaryenmelodrama.tumblr.com) if you wanna drop by!


End file.
